The Grand Lodge of Texas on Columbus Avenue has long served as the center of operations for masonry in Texas and is one of the largest freemason lodges in the world.
The Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons is the oldest continuously operating organization in Texas, established through the Grand Lodge of Louisiana in 1835 and becoming its own entity in 1837, with Sam Houston presiding over the organizational meeting. It developed into the fifth-largest masonic lodge in the world as well as the headquarters for Texas freemasons. On December 6, 1904, it moved from Houston to Waco. Twentieth-century modernization and rapid economic expansion made Waco’s central location in the state the perfect location for the masons, establishing prime conditions for the growth of the Grand Lodge.
The fraternal organization initially shared a building with the National Guard in Waco but needed more space as the lodge continued to grow. The masons formed a committee, purchased land, and crafted a building design. On December 23, 1947, the Masons held a groundbreaking ceremony. The two million dollar project was completed in 1949, and the One Hundred and Fourteenth Annual Communication was the first event held in the new lodge.
The building, located on Columbus Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, is grandiose. The Grand Lodge’s granite white stone finish and design are inspired by the description given in the Bible of King Solomon’s Temple—a massive, elegant structure constructed to hold the Ark of the Covenant. The impressive structure attracts many viewers and draws interest to downtown Waco.
At first glance, eyes are drawn to the two large pillars in front of the building with globes situated on top. One globe is terrestrial while the other globe is celestial. Contemplating these two bodies is meant to inspire the studies of geometry, astronomy, geography, and navigation through which more extensive knowledge of the mysteries of nature and laws which govern the universe may be obtained. The other noticeable feature on the outside of Grand Lodge is a stone bas-relief illustrating people quarrying, transporting, and setting stones for the construction of King Solomon’s Temple. Raoul Josset, a French-born American sculptor whose work can be seen throughout Texas, received a commission in 1948 to incorporate the sculpture onto the side of the building. This architectural feature separated the building from any other in Waco or Texas.
Internally, the lodge contains facilities such as offices, meeting halls, a library, and a museum. Additionally, items such as Sam Houston’s gavel, the Masonic constitution, petitions, books, speeches, communication notes, and portraits are on display within. This impressive building, which combines both a visual experience and a practical space, accomplishes more than just sharing the knowledge of the history, of the Texas Masonic Order. The Grand Lodge preserves information on Waco and Texas history making it an important part in understanding the surrounding region.
In addition to meeting the needs of Texas freemasons, the Grand Lodge of Texas has served as a center for the fraternal organization’s charitable operations as well. The Masons largely centered their efforts upon the provision of education for children, establishing both Masonic-sponsored and public schools throughout Texas. Some other charities of the Texas freemasons include the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children and the Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston.
Today the Grand Lodge of Texas remains the center of freemasonry in Texas, in addition to standing as one of the hallmark architectural pieces of the city.
]]>During its decade of service, George Barnard’s branch of the Torrey Trading Posts served as one of the first commercial ventures in the Waco area. Transactions between white settlers and native Indians conducted at Torrey Trading Posts served as a vital part of Sam Houston’s peace policy in the mid-nineteenth century. Brothers John, David, and Thomas Torrey opened the first Torrey Trading Houses establishment in Houston in 1838. Over the next decade, the firm established trading houses in Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels, and along the Brazos River.
In 1844, the firm opened a trading post on a small tributary of Tehuacana Creek, about eight miles below Waco Indian Village. George Barnard, a twenty-six-year-old native of Connecticut, was the proprietor of this post. After serving as a clerk for the Torrey firm in Houston for several years, Barnard became a partner in 1843. George and his brother Charles moved to Tehuacana Creek in 1844 to operate the new post, becoming the first white settlers in the Waco region.
Located on a high hill overlooking the Brazos Valley, the post was well-known by the Indians of the region since the site had served as a council ground for several years. Game was abundant in this area, and the trading post developed a large fur trade. Between 1844 and 1853, Barnard handled seventy-five thousand deer hides. Buffalo hides were also plentiful. Black bears were likewise abundant, and there were even numerous beavers in this community, though of a smaller variety than the northern beaver and with poorer fur. Here, workers sorted hides, packed them into bales, and freighted them to Houston by ox wagon. Barnard's principal freighter, L. H. Williams, charged two dollars per hundred pounds of fur.
Barnard's stock of trade goods consisted of almost anything the post’s Indian customers might desire, including heavy supplies of gunpowder, lead, bullet molds, and hatchets, as well as colored beads, blankets, cloth, dress combs, and refined bear's oil. Tobacco was in heavy demand, and Barnard's sales record also showed the occasional sale of a gallon of whiskey. In 1848, Barnard bought out the Torrey brothers' interest in the post for $9,500, which was about one half of the inventory valuation of the stock.
George B. Erath and Jacob De Cordova began to lay out the first plots of Waco Village in 1849. As the Indians began to move further away from growing white settlements, George and Charles relocated the trading post to the Brazos River in order to remain close to their primary base of customers. The removal of the Indians from the Waco area dealt a blow to business at Barnard’s Trading Post, and it is likely that the depot was controversial among white settlers due to its provision of arms and liquor to the Indians.
By 1851, Barnard bought a lot in Waco Village and moved his stock from the Tehuacana River. He sold the business to Fox and Jacobs, Waco’s first Jewish merchants, in 1857. The buildings of the original trading post stood for many years afterwards, the last being destroyed by a fire in 1929. The original location of this celebrated frontier establishment, which served as a point of peaceful interaction between white settlers and native Wacoans, was marked with a historical marker by the Texas Centennial Commission in 1936.
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